One bad Mofro: JJ Grey ready to rock Greenfield Lake

Wednesday

Mar 25, 2009 at 11:16 AM

The songs of Florida singer and songwriter JJ Grey of funk/soul/blues/rock band JJ Grey & Mofro find the universal in the local. They sound pretty great, too.

For a long time, JJ Grey tried not to write songs about his home state of Florida.He was weary of the Jacksonville area he came from, it wasn't interesting to him and he couldn't imagine that it would be interesting to anyone else. So instead, he tried to write songs about subjects he thought would be popular. They weren't."There was so many things I was ready to walk away from and not pay attention to anymore and treat as though, that's old and that's not worth remembering," Grey said during a recent phone interview, conducted just as he was arriving back home in Jacksonville from a gig in Boston. "And then it just sort of hit me across the face. And I'm not even sure who punched me or how it punched me or when I got hit, but it was like a boxer, I got hit by a phantom. That's how it all came down at one time, and I felt like, 'I need to remember this stuff.' When I write a song like 'Lachloosa' or 'Florida' or any of these tunes on any of these records, they're all about home, they're all about whatever I've seen. It's kind of like a diary so to speak."In other words, Grey, as many storytellers before him have done, managed to find the universal in the local. He wrote about what he knew, and since then, fans in Florida and all across the country have responded to his heartfelt tunes, which blend rock, soul, gospel, funk and blues under the name JJ Grey & Mofro.In Wilmington, Grey is a favorite on radio station 106.7 FM, aka The Penguin, and Friday the Penguin is bringing JJ Grey & Mofro to Wilmington for an outdoor concert at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, the first in a series of shows the Penguin has planned at the venue."That radio station is just kickin' it," Grey said of the Penguin. "I've been playing for years in Asheville, Raleigh, Charlotte, but coming to Wilmington for the first time is going to be just wonderful."Grey's latest album, 2008's "Orange Blossoms" (Alligator Records), has obvious references to the Sunshine State in its title and in songs like "Ybor City." But don't expect to hear tunes about theme parks or artificial stuff like that. Rather, Grey is all about keeping it real, and he uses Florida as a jumping off point to talk about things such as young love, which comes through on the story-song title track so clean you can taste it: "All the trees were in bloom, that sweet smell in the air," Grey sings, in his husky, emotion-soaked voice, which is both romantic and masculine. "I can see her standing there/ When I smell those orange blossoms I'm there."Many of Grey's more popular songs, "Brighter Days" and "Lochloosa" among them, have a lazy, mellow, swirly organ vibe. But Mofro, a great band with a rotating roster of members, can bring all manner of soul, blues and especially funk. Florida has been a hotbed of funk since the genre was invented. The song "On Fire" from "Orange Blossoms" is a smokin' funk jam about a stripper, and the song verily reeks of illicit sex but also has lyrics that speak to the seedier side of the business."It's a little shady," Grey said with a laugh. "It's kind of a laugh at the whole process. The funny irony is, in all my experiences of going to a strip club, it's always the dudes who think they're being cool and dropping cash who think they're in control. But it's really the women, the dancers, they're the ones doing the exploiting. So good for them."Grey even worked on a mind-blowing video (see it at www.Mofro.net) in which Barbie and Ken dolls are put to nefarious use (Grey manipulated the dolls himself) in accurately portraying a strip club environment. It'll make you sweat, blush and laugh."It all started when I saw this movie on YouTube called 'The Karen Carpenter Story,'●" Grey said. "It was very creepy. And I was like, well, I want to do something funny."For the most part, however, the songs Grey writes are serious to a soul-stirring degree. Grey likes to write about real life, and while "On Fire" would certainly qualify, he also touches on subjects like love, infidelity and the mysterious beauty, happiness and sadness of life."I'm just preachin' to myself," Grey said. "I'm teachin' best what I most need to learn. Which means I'm not teachin' anybody but me, 'cause I'm the one who needs to remember these things."John Staton: 343-2343john.staton@starnewsonline.com

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